sustentation

[suhs-tuh n-tey-shuh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR sustentation ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

maintenance in being or activity; the sustaining of life through vital processes.

provision with means or funds for upkeep.

means of sustaining life; sustenance.

Origin of sustentation

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin sustentātiōn- (stem of sustentātiō) an upholding, equivalent to sustentāt(us) (past participle of sustentāre, frequentative of sustinēre to sustain) + -iōn- -ion

Related formssus·ten·ta·tion·al, adjectivesus·ten·ta·tive

[suhs-tuh n-tey-tiv, suh-sten-tuh-tiv] /ˈsʌs tənˌteɪ tɪv, səˈstɛn tə tɪv/, adjectiveself-sus·ten·ta·tion, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for sustentation

existence, job, income, livelihood, storage, conservancy, conservation, safety, security, care, redemption, pardon, liberation, restoration, deliverance, emancipation, backing, repair, outlay, preservation

Examples from the Web for sustentation

Historical Examples of sustentation

Power of sustentation; the quality of sustaining a weight in the air.
Flying Machines
W.J. Jackman and Thos. H. Russell
She wishes you to give her a legal promise of marriage, and sustentation.
The Memoires of Casanova, Complete
Jacques Casanova de Seingalt
This defection from within not made up by sustentation from without.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 108, June 1, 1895
Various
Now, Nature is sufficient of itself, not only for sustentation, but also for creation.
Evolution
Joseph Le Conte
The one concerns the laws of sustentation of the system, the other the laws of evolution.
Evolution
Joseph Le Conte

British Dictionary definitions for sustentation

sustentation

noun

a less common word for sustenance

Word Origin for sustentation

C14: from Latin sustentātio, from sustentāre, frequentative of sustinēre to sustain

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for sustentation

late 14c., from Anglo-French, Old French sustenacion, from Latin sustenationem (nominative sustenatio), noun of action from past participle stem of sustenare, frequentative of sustinere (see sustain).